About Kazakhstan

Geography of Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan is officially known as Republic of Kazakhstan. It is world’s largest landlocked country and ninth largest in the world. Kazakhstan is also only one of two countries in the world which has territory in two continents. Talking about Kazakhstan Geography in current times then it has an area of 2,700,000 Sq. KM which is equivalent to size of Western Europe. Kazakhstan shares its borders with Russia, Uzbekistan, China, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan. Astana is capital city of Kazakhstan and other than this other major cities of Kazakhstan are Almaty, Karagandy, Shymkent and Atyrau. Kazakhstan is entirely located in Asia region but small portion of the country is also located in Eastern Europe which is west of the Ural Mountains.

Talking of Kazakhstan nature the country’s major part are steppes, deserts, semi-deserts and mountains. Being the largest landlocked country in the world Kazakhstan has no access to World Ocean but the territory of the country is touched by two land-locked seas namely Caspian and Aral.

Climate and Weather of Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan Climate is extremely continental. Country has warm to hot summers and very cold winters. Because of big distance from oceans the country has warm summers and winters are quite cold. Summers are quite hot in the country as temperature can go up to 49° C and similarly winters are quite cold as temperatures can go down to – 30-40° C and even lower in the northern part. In fact, Astana, the capital city of Kazakhstan is known to be the second coldest capital city in the world. Kazakhstan is almost entirely covered by deserts and steppes which determines climate in Kazakhstan. This is why northern part gets the maximum rain while in south and centre it comes down significantly.

Kazakhstan Weather can be extreme during summers and winters. But as Kazakhstan is a big country so weather can vary in different parts of the country. Both summers and winters are ideal for tourists. Especially in winters snow covering in the country attracts lot of adventure sports lovers.

History of Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan holds quite a significant place in the history of Central Asia region as it has been a historical crossroad and also homes for several empires, states and people throughout the history. The geographical and geopolitical position of Kazakhstan has played huge role in the overall development of the country. History of Kazakhstan is hugely impacted by the fact that it is located in the centre of Eurasia. This led to social, cultural, economic and lot of other influences from both east and west part of the world. At different junctures in Kazakhstan history different states emerged, developed and contributed in the making of Kazakhstan which we see today.

Because of the terrain and the climate of Kazakhstan, it had nomadic culture for longest period of time which can still be seen. The biggest example of this is the Yurt, which is a dome shaped portable house made from wood, a perfect stay for nomadic people. Though Kazakhstan is believed to be inhabited from Stone Age, yet it mainly came into existence in the beginning of 15th century. Since then it was under the rules of many outside emperors and in 19th century it came under the Soviet Union Rule from which it got independence in 1991 only as a result of Soviet Union fall out. So, Kazakhstan history is quite interesting and can be seen in the culture, architectural and social life of the country.

Culture and Traditions of Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan Culture is what is today because of influences of who always lived here and those who came from outside and lived here for substantial length of time. Not to forget being at the crossroads of Asia and Europe thousands of people walked this land for trade and thy also left their footprints in creating Kazakhstan culture. However Kazak culture is very much influenced by Turkic nomadic lifestyle. There has been tradition of curses and blessings that affected animals. Animal husbandry was such an intrinsic part of the culture that people asked about the health of livestock first when they met each other and after that only they asked for the human aspect of their life.

Modern Kazakhstan lifestyle is influenced by western societies, Russia and China. Nomadic lifestyle also contributed in art and crafts of the country. Folk art developed here in tune with nomadic way of life. Kazakhstan traditions include craftwork of people here who made decorated clothes, jewellery, colourful rugs, embroidery and many other things. Even today in the local Bazaars of Kazakhstan one can find souvenirs, cloths, jewellery and rugs with lot of art work on it crafted by local craftsmen.

Food and Cuisine of Kazakhstan

Lamb, horse meat and variety of dairy milk products are the main items around which traditional Kazakh cuisine revolved. Nomadic way of life contributed hugely the cooking style, techniques and majority of ingredients that were used in Kazakhstan food. Food items were aimed to be preserved for long time and that is why they were cooked in certain manner. Beshbarmak is the most popular Kazakh dish. This is the national dish of Kazakhstan and this is made of horse or lamb meat. There are several other popular dishes made of horse meats in Kazakhstan. Other than these, Pilaf or palaw is the most common Kazakh food made of rice. Pilaf is served along with vegetables like carrots, onions and garlic, and chunks of meat.

Modern Kazakhstan cuisine is very much influenced by western countries especially in Astana and Almaty. This has resulted in lot of new breed of cuisine coming in Kazakhstan in recent years. Thus blends traditional savoury Kazakh dishes with European fast food items. And youth likes this new blend of cuisine very much. Visitors coming to Kazakhstan find it cool as well because now they have plenty of options here.